Getting Things Done

This book by David Allen has been genuinely recommended 3 times across 2 different shows: Diary of a CEO, Tim Ferriss. The people who vouched for it on air: Brian Armstrong, Chris Williamson, Tim Ferriss. It comes up in conversations about consciousness, depression & mood, longevity & aging, motivation & discipline, productivity & performance. The earliest recommendation we indexed is from Jan 2021 and the most recent from Dec 2025. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential.

• “People want a really really great productivity strategy. Getting things done by David Allen is is about as good as you can get.”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “really really great productivity strategy ... about as good as you can get”
  Chris Williamson · The Diary of a CEO · Dec 202500:54:24

  Said during "Chris Williamson: Fix This One Habit And 2026 Will Be Your Best Year!". The episode features Chris Williamson: British podcaster and host of Modern Wisdom, one of the world's biggest podcasts and a former nightclub promoter turned personal-development thinker now based in the US. Chris Williamson on designing realistic New Year goals, habit consistency, and the lonely cost of self-improvement, plus his brutal year battling mold illness.

• “I like David Allen I think his name is has a good book getting things done right I mean I roughly follow some kind of a process like that”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “I like David Allen... has a good book getting things done... I roughly follow some kind of a process like that”
  Brian Armstrong · The Tim Ferriss Show · Oct 202201:09:31

  Said during "Relentless Focus, Full-Contact Entrepreneurship, Epigenetic Reprogramming, and More". The episode features Brian Armstrong: Co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the crypto exchange he founded in 2012; also funder of biotech startup New Limit and scientific platform ResearchHub. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on building crypto, making unpopular leadership calls, and funding longevity science.

• “getting things done by david allen incredible system david's been on the podcast is excellent for getting rid of all the stuff”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “incredible system ... is excellent for getting rid of all the stuff”
  Tim Ferriss · The Tim Ferriss Show · Jan 202100:04:39

  Said during "Richard Schwartz, IFS, Psychedelic Experiences without Drugs, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Richard Schwartz: Family therapist and Harvard Medical School psychiatry faculty member who developed the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model in the early 1980s. IFS is now an evidence-based form of psychotherapy widely used for trauma. Richard Schwartz explains Internal Family Systems therapy and leads Tim Ferriss through a live IFS session on his own anxiety and trauma.